Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Birmingham among areas with lowest vaccine uptake
Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Birmingham have been named as some of the worst areas in the country for vaccination uptake according to a new report.
The study by research centre Future Health assessed local authorities on the uptake of five major vaccinations: Covid-19; seasonal flu; PPV, shingles; and whooping cough.
They ranked every local authority on vaccine uptake for the five programmes, with Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Birmingham falling to the bottom of the table.
All three councils were in the bottom 29 local authorities alongside major cities such as Manchester, Leicester, and several areas of London.
As well as finding "widespread variation" in uptake across England, the report also found a link between vaccine uptake and deprivation, particularly for the Covid-19 and seasonal flu vaccines.
Areas with higher levels of deprivation were more likely to have lower vaccine uptake rates, while less deprived areas were more likely to have higher levels of vaccine uptake.
For the purpose of the survey, deprivation was measured based on seven domains: income, employment, health, crime, education, housing, and living environment.
Richard Sloggett, Programme Director of Future Health said: “There are a number of reasons which could explain this vaccine hesitancy.
"The Covid-19 vaccine programme revealed a particular scepticism towards vaccination among ethnic minorities and religious groups, pregnant women and people in particular occupations.
"There is also a strong correlation between people not being jabbed in more deprived communities.
“Encouraging the uptake of different vaccines, especially among those who have previously been hesitant, is going to become increasingly important to how we tackle other healthcare conditions.
"The Government’s vision for cancer includes a focus on the development of new cancer vaccines; new vaccinations for flu and hospital acquired infections are also in the pipeline.
"Ensuring the widest access to these needs to be a central policy objective for the Government’s planned post Covid vaccination strategy.”
The report includes a 12 point plan for vaccination strategy in order to encourage higher levels of uptake.
These include increasing the knowledge, capability, and capacity of the public healthy and primary care workforce, as well as increasing access to vaccines through the use of mobile units and community based vaccination sites.
